From a bottle dated 11/19/12. Looks and smells vaguely reminiscent of Bourbon County Brand Stout, but the comparison ends there. Perhaps due to age, the beer is bitter and funky (not good funky) and a little boozy. Not great.

L: Looks like Caffe Americano, chugged out of the bottle, black as night, wood-colored head
S: Big raisin and alcohol
T: The hops have sweetened finally, big raisin, roasted malts
F: Thick, creamy, smooth
O: Really great 2012 vintage, not hoppy, at the top of its class.

I cracked this open one night by myself when I just wanted a big and bold stout. This may be one of my top 5 stouts ever. Thick, flavorful, just the right amount of barrel to it where you know it is BA, but doesn't taste like you have licked a glass of scotch.
If you have this bottle, do yourself a favor and drink it. This is not trade bait, this is a treat for your face.

2011 vintage (bottled on 02/06/11 1259).
Poured from 22 oz bottle into snifter.
A: Pours an extremely dark brown with no light emerging from backlighting. Just a thin skim of dark mocha head that slowly recedes. Looks potent.
S: Boozy chocolate hits the nose from a good foot away. Upon closer inspection, dark sweet chocolate, boozy leather, vanilla, oak, and medium roast coffee. Solid across the board from each of these notes.
T: Ah...here are the hops! Nice muted pine hops...there could be some citrus in there too, but the chocolate covers it up. Dark sweet chocolate, boozy leather, vanilla, oak, and medium roast coffee. Pretty much follows the aroma except for the nice addition of the hops. Would have been interesting to try this one fresh to see the balance struck then. Hint of licorice, fig, and molasses with warming.
M: Soft and sweet. Thick and luscious. Medium-heavy body (drinks a tad lighter than ABV). Mildly bitter throughout. Excellent lingering and maturing on the palate.
D: What a wonderful sipper. Smooth as silk and hits all the wonderful dark notes. The hops have certainly lessened with age, but there is still a nice presence.

This bottle is enjoyed a little over 2 years after bottling and it has aged pretty damn well. The taste is sweet with some hops still lingering around although I'm sure they have faded considerably over the last couple years. This one drinks deceivingly well considering the high ABV. Overall, I haven't had a fresh bottle to enjoy of this beer but it is damn tasty after a couple years. Moral of the story: drink one fresh and save at least one to enjoy years down the road. Cheers!

This beer is black. It is topped with an inch of tan head with a little lacing.

There is an aroma of dark fruit, roasted malt, dark chocolate, and a hint of anise.

The taste is consistent with the smell. However, an almost burnt taste develops after about half a bottle. There are some intense flavors and may be overwhelming my palate. There is a persistent faded hops taste. It reminds me a little of tea in the background. Then the anise whisks it away.

It is a thick, sticky, viscous brew. Right in my wheelhouse.

This is another hoppy "insert beer style here" beer that I cellared without realizing that it was a hopped up version of the style. It was a good beer regardless, but I bought it within a month of bottling and just got around to drinking two years later. I guess I need quicker turnover and some interns to study all my purchases. I think I'll call my venture Kramerica Industries.

Note: I had this beer when it first came out and I remember not being overly impressed. It was fine, just nothing special. I found this bottle in the discount bin of my local bottle store and decided to give it another try. What a difference some aging had made! Wow, I've totally turned around on this one. The review below is for this aged bottle.

Appearance:
The beer is thick and black as motor oil. A fairly strong tan head forms and then quickly dies out. Little lacing.

Smell:
Rich dark fruits, caramel, booze, and something like the leathery smell of an old oiled baseball glove. Some other lighter fragrances are present too, citrus?

Taste:
The taste is intense and complex. Rich foggy dark fruits, chocolate, some coffee, sweet caramel. There is a nice interplay between the sweetness and the alcohol burn, and it does burn. There is some bitterness on the finish. My tongue is left tingling from the intensity of the flavors. I think that some will find this beer too harsh, but I am loving the symphony of flavors going off in my mouth. Sort of like drinking the 1812 Overture.

Mouthfeel:
Very little carbonation, this beer is thick, oily, luscious. It coats the mouth.

Overall:
A unique and intense beer. This is so much more than just a Stout. I will be heading back to see if I can score anymore aged bottles from the discount bin. I think this beer has the legs to go for years. It will be interesting to see what a few more years could do, but I am happy to drink it right now. What a change from when I first tried it, I presume that the sweetness when fresh was hiding some of the underlying complexities.

APPEARANCE: Poured a thick, dense oil slick black. Very small chocolate colored head that dissipated almost instantly leaving a small halo.

AROMA: Very complex nose. Lush over ripe dark fruits, raisins, molasses and chocolate hit right away. Then vanilla and roasted malts swing by before the hops come nicely walking in.

TASTE: Chocolate covered raisins, deep purple plums. Really nice sweetness that takes over. Not getting much of the hops I faintly got on the nose. Probably because it has been cellared for 4 years. The taste on this is pure decadence, the roasted malts feel like they are melting in my mouth.

MOUTHFEEL: Heavy bodied with minimal carbonation. The great thickness and mouthfeel I've come to know and love from goose island. Oily and slick that coats the mouth leaving you wanting more.

OVERALL: I'm actually glad that my first experience with a NightStalker is one that had been cellared for 4 years. The absence of hops in the taste along with the abundance of dark fruits in the taste compliment the faint hops on the nose perfectly. I thought this was an amazing beer and would love to try a different vintage.

I had a 10oz tulip of this yesterday at the Portsmouth Brewery, during their mini stout-fest in the LaPanza Lounge.

Poured a thick, dense black, with a thin bit of lacing around the edge, but hardly any lacing was present. Nose had some coffee and bitter choco, with some floral hops noted. Mouthfeel was thick, smooth and chewy - top shelf!

Flavor had more dark choco and bitter coffee notes. A bit of espresso, plus some dark fruit led into a somewhat floral, dry finish. Pretty decent, overall. Prosit!

A: Pours very thick, almost appears the viscosity of oil. Less than 1 finger of tan head the reduces fairly quickly and leaves little to no lacing.
S: Chocolate, coffee, and for the age I'm surprised that there's some hops left. Chocolate is the clear lead.
T: Chocolate is the lead here as well. Some dark roasty flavor, wood, and vanilla all present. Pretty well balanced, but I definitely like the chocolate forward approach on this.
M: Thick, carbed to style. Leaves a sweet aftertaste that hides the 11.5%.
O: Very enjoyable offering from Goose Island. I particularly appreciate how drinkable this is at such high ABV. I went in with BCBS on my mind as a comparison, but once I got into the first glass, I was able to get past the comparison and truly enjoy this for what it is.

A - Thick, dark, creamy with a finger of medium brown, quickly dissipating head.
S - A hint of hops remaining with a slightly green background, likely from one of the many hops used.
T - Dark, rich, chocolate flavor. Hints of coffee and hops. A little on the sweet side.
M - Relatively heavy feel with a nice mouth-coating quality.
O - An excellent beer. The slightly odd nose is made up for by the intense, rich flavors. I look forward to cellaring the remaining bottles for some time to see how it evolves and look forward to the 2013 vintage.